Johnny Rodriguez letter: The setting is not as important as saving the sinner

I am a servant, attending Southern Hills Church of Christ. I agree with Wes McAdams (letters to the editor, March 14) that homes are a great place for fellowship and talk about God, but it wasn’t always true. Jesus was accused of having meals with “sinners and tax collectors”(Luke 5:27-32). Because of his choices, there were religious leaders who were uncomfortable with his decisions. Our Lord was found in “establishments (homes) associated with sin”. He did not condone the sin of the occupants but loved them closer to God.

I suggest that what some consider “neutral,” others may not. To Christ, the mission was more important than the mission point. He considered his lost sheep more important than the pasture (or desert) where they grazed. When he gave us the great commission in Matthew 28: 18-20, he didn’t suggest we just go to a neutral site, he just said “go.” He didn’t say to go just where you feel comfortable or where it was safe, he said “go.”

Ephesians 5:1-21 was mentioned and I encourage everyone to read it. I pray that the “fragrant offering” (5:2) and the “light in the Lord” (5:8) be spread in the smelly, dimly lit bar. Churches have long opened their doors, hoping that people in need of Christ would stumble in. Christ wants us to be like the prodigal son’s father and run to His children, loving them and telling them about the power of a Savior to love and forgive all of us, even a tax collector like me.